_{DJ Nadi (owner of Domo Records) interview}
JK: Hey Nadi, how are you?

DJ Nadi: Good man.

JK: Tell me a bit about how Domo Records started. The first release was “Travelocity” in 2002 I understand?

DJ Nadi: The complete origin of Domo started in 1998 in mu home town Haifa in the north of Israel, I opened the Domo Dance bar and records shop, which was a really cool underground place with vinyl and CD records shop dealing with electronic music only in the back room, and in the front it was a dance bar/pub with a special Tuesday night venue where all the biggest (and I mean biggest) DJs and artists of Israel performed for free for their promotion, guys like Miko (California sunshine), Dede (then leading MDMA label and distribution), Chakra who celebrated his birthday there ,Oforia and so on. I closed the place down after 10 months working because it was way before its time to slow Israel especially Haifa which is a working town, but it gave the inspiration after 3 years to open the label under the same name.
We were three partners in the beginning, Avi Nini, who was a DJ for Krembo Records before and was looking for something better to do, Darwish who was my partner in party making with his late brother Itzik , with whom we made our most successful underground parties in those 3 years giving the inspiration to most of the underground orgs making parties nowadays in Israel in all genres, and myself, making underground parties and DJing since 1992 from the roots of the scene.
We were exposed to progressive and minimal music when it started more or less in Europe around 1998, and it gave us the inspiration, like in the parties we were making, to make something different than the normal chaotic cheesy full on going on in Israel and this is how Domo started basically.

JK: All your releases seem to have a sound that is uniquely Domo. Can you tell me a bit about the direction Domo takes when choosing its artists?

DJ Nadi: Well from the beginning we tried to somehow give our own perspective of the music we like and to put our “trade mark” in our releases, but in the same time to be updated with the global development of the scene. We were immediately connected to the Swiss sound which attracted us with its heavy percussions and fat sound and naturally we decided to push to this direction.
If you are familiar with our catalogue you can see that our sound, as our DJ sets and music choice, evolved since the first CD release- Travelocity, to a more uplifting groovy sound today less minimal since it started to bore us as DJs also, and our artists evolved too in this direction so this progress is quite demanded.


JK: Which artists are now signed or working with Domo? Who are the sounds to look out for?

DJ Nadi: Our current exclusive artists are: French Sensifeel, who released his debut album some months ago and is constantly working to develop his unique sound, Swiss boys Insane creation, and V tunes who are going to release their awaited debut albums next on Domo and a new Israeli group called Quantise who are currently working to establish their musical direction but have a lot of talent and will be a big surprise soon IMO, other than these we have artists who are working non exclusively with us like Sonnenvakuum/sonic cube from Switzerland who is going to release his second album in Domo in the winter, Swiss Liquid Soul who is going to be the biggest surprise of the near future with his pumping uplifting style, Israel Ace Ventura (Yoni Oshrat, who is half of Psysex of Hommega fame) who is now developing his own perception of progressive music in a very cool way, and many more really..

JK: Your up-and-coming release is entitled “Posse”. Can you tell me a bit about it? Why Posse?

DJ Nadi: Posse has multiple definition but the one we refer to is coming from the “Afro-American” slang of the ghettos, and the general meaning is “Gang” but in the positive way, meaning a group of people sharing the same thoughts and philosophy about life and the feeling of family, this is how Domo sees itself from the beginning as one big family which the main interest in it is the same Ideas and this is our motivation first of all, second come money and fame, not without importance of course, we all want to make a living, but since Ideology comes first it reflects on everything else thus making it a nice place to be.

JK: What else is instore this year for Domo? Any other releases we can look forward to?

DJ Nadi: Well we have a tight upcoming schedule which in my non objective eyes is a real treat to any proggy lover wherever he is, next order of releases is as follows: Insane Creation debut album (07/05), V Tunes Debut album (09/05), V/A Compilation collected by our Israeli DJ Huda –G who is one of the hottest DJs in Israel at the moment (10/05), and Sonnenvakuum second album (01/06).

JK: You used to be involved with Domo Label group, but I understand now you just are Domo Records. Can you tell me a bit about this? You are now starting a new tribal/progressive label… what is the direction with this one?

DJ Nadi: We had Domo Label Group when I was in Germany a few months ago, which included Domo Records and VP records, since 02/05 DLG is finished and now VP records is run by Avi Nini my ex-partner, and I run Domo Records alone, since I like and am involved in all kinds of electronic music, and since I’m looking for new developments and border crossing I decided to open a Brazilian based label called Tupan Records, which is going to be dealing with tribal and more deep-housy music.
It will be based on local talents with some back up of more established international artists and since the Brazilian progressive scene is in its very basic developments now I see a great future for this one.
Another project I’m currently starting to work on is a new electronic/freestyle label for beginning of next year to cover the parts of electronic music the other 2 labels don’t reach and is going to be a blend of genres like Dub, reggae, trip hop D&B and will naturally be aiming for a much larger market then its other brother labels..

JK: I understand this is your first time compiling for the label? 13 years in the Business, you certainly have some experience behind your back!

DJ Nadi: Well yes, I am one of the pioneers of the underground party scene in Israel. Although I was always in the shadows and never really showed off I am responsible for some of the more magical moments in the party scene around here.
in the label work , again I never really search for the spot lights, I like to do my job and that’s my biggest credit, other people are looking for recognition more I guess.. But in this specific case of Posse, since I am now the only owner and manager of Domo Records it was time for me to show my personal taste in progressive music as reflected in my DJ sets all over the world and to give my own statement of the future direction of the label: pumping groovy and fat!

JK: Where has your career taken you? Where have you travelled?

DJ Nadi: Well even before I started to be a DJ I was a traveller I spent a total of 1.5 years in South America, 3 months in India, 3 months in Central America and uncounted time all over Europe which is my favourite continent to be, since I started to be a DJ and label owner I already played in countries such as: India, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Bulgaria & Croatia.

JK: What’s the biggest moment in your career so far? What’s the best party you have played at?

DJ Nadi: Well again it differs between parties I organised and parties I played at, but I would say the best party I played at would have to be Solaris Festival in Brazil, in which I was surprised to see the positive reactions of the Brazilian crowd to progressive music since I expected them to be mainly full on lovers, but 3500 people (out of total of 5000) gave me amazing feedback on the deck!

JK: How has the music you listened to changed in that time? Who were some of your early trance music influences?

DJ Nadi: I’m what you might consider a “dinosaur in the scene” first parties I went to were in 1992 and a year later I started to DJ and make parties (started in the same time) back then my influences were the first “goa-music” artists such as Tsuyoshi, Total Eclipse, the first Spirit zone & Blue Room releases, in time I evolved along side with the European music styles always up to date with the current style in Germany mainly and my DJ sets were always not ordinary and with a small sense of underground in it from European Goa music (never got connected to the Israeli sound as odd as it may sound being an Isra-alien ), through the heavy psychedelic days until I discovered progressive in 1999 and got connected to it straight away.

JK: Which artists now do you think are making big waves in the trance community? Established? What about new-comers?

DJ Nadi: Well I can comment on the proggy style since this is my main interest these days although I do listen to all kinds of trance and electronic music, even the darkest ones to keep myself updated with the developments of the different scenes, so in this style the best ones in my opinion are naturally Son kite , Ticon, and Antix from the established artists, from the newcomers I can point out V tunes my Swiss artist who are going to be the big surprise of the near future, also Swiss Liquid Soul who makes some of the more powerful psy-gressive music nowadays and was undoubtedly the best Proggy live act in VOOV festival last year, and Ace Ventura who is in fact Yoni of the much acclaimed Psysex group who is making some great proggy tunes lately and I’m sure is going to make more waves soon.

JK: What do you think of the state of the trance scene globally at the moment? Do you think it’s healthy?

DJ Nadi: Well this Question has 2 sides really the industry side and the party side, industry wise, its quite clear the big fall which has passed us in the last 2 years has died down a bit leaving the market more or less stabilised in its new limits which are much lower than before but at least don’t deteriorate anymore, thus allowing labels to calculate their moves and investments more wisely and maybe manage to survive after all, happily enough this fall has changed the artists too so that they can understand that the status of the labels has changes and needs new adjustments in regards to payments and conditions to release tracks otherwise they will be left completely unemployed , and this caused a relatively sane industry with much lower sales but also more realistic investments from labels allowing them to keep on operating. Party wise it’s a different story I guess, not influenced from CD selling, the trance party scene is an established scene in Israel and west Europe especially in Germany and Switzerland, the scoundrels and greedy bustards are still there of course in big masses as well as the good hearted organisers who are doing their best to make a party out of love and good will so in the end it depends what one is searching in a party as opposed to the offers in his country.. I can go on for ages about that but I guess there’s a need for a complete interview in this subject.


JK: Have you heard much about Australian trance artists? Any that you like?

DJ Nadi: Yes, the Australian progressive scene has finally started to really grow in recent years, and it’s a good thing indeed for all of us! Artists like Sensient & Sun Control Species are making excellent work now, and labels such as legendary Psy-harmonics, and Demon tea are always testing the boundaries of electronic music (and our brain capacity in the same time) to the full extent!

JK: Would you like to come down here?

DJ Nadi: Well that’s a bit of a useless question isn’t it? Hehe of course I would love to come over there! The style of music that Domo is now releasing and I’m presenting in my DJ sets is considered Day time music, and I believe in one of the more classic outdoor party countries such as Oz which invented the term doof this kind of music has a major roll! Hope to be there soon to explain my theory in person 

JK: Any thank-yous? People who’ve helped you along the way? Last words?

DJ Nadi: Well my biggest thanks go definitely to my wife Pnina who supported me blindly through very hard days and desperate situations and is one of the only reasons I’m still here doing this interview at all, my parents of course who all along my life didn’t question for one minute what in god’s name am I actually doing with myself.. And of course my label’s artists and the DJs helping us to reach places we only dreamt on and making my work value much more too many more people around the globe.

JK: Thanks very much man.

_{Perfect Stranger / BLT (Iboga, Israel)}
Hey Yuli, how are you mate?

Very good thanks !!

You’ve been quite a long standing member of the scene with your project BLT. Tell me a bit about how you first discovered trance… Who were some of your early influences?

I discovered trance in 1991, at that time it was Ramirez stuff and the likes that I actually found very danceable but wasn’t too much impressed by… I was an art rock fan ( and still am ) so it was a descent stuff to dance to, but I disregarded it as real music… I was travelling India and got to Goa in beginng of 1993, stayed there couple of months and as u can see I started to like trance quite a lot. My influences on making music are coming mainly from my early love to art rock and blues – bands such as early Genesis, King Crimson etc.. are real groundbreakers in my opinion even these days, and can give a lot of inspiration to anyone.. In the trance scene definitely X Dream, Juno reactor, Koxbox ( The Great Unknown CD ) but the list is too long, u know u can get inspiration from a great many things around.

I don’t see many BLT releases anymore… You seem to releasing a lot as Perfect Stranger though. Why the change of project?

As with all things in life there is beginning and there is an end. BLT project managed to produce quality trance music for 7 years, but most of the time it was too full on for prog heads and too progressive for full on heads. BLT was steady in that matter and had a distinguished sound and musical formation. To start something totally new, u need first to get rid of the old.. So BLT had to die.

Tell me about the new sound of Perfect Stranger… I’ve only heard a few tracks, but it seems to have a very characteristic sound…

Perfect Stranger is progressive psy trance that ranges mostly around 130 to 135 speed. It is phat and bouncy, based on tight groove with tribal elements, melodic at times and fit to be played in both clubs and nature parties.

I hear that you are compiling a compilation for Iboga later in the year… Can you tell me a bit about that? Who will be on it?

You heard right. It will be my second compilation made for Iboga and I am very much satisfied with it at the moment. The general idea from the beginning was to bring more Israeli artists to start create progressive music, and with the previous compilation it was obvious that something happening here, altho it had some prog to full on moments to it. In the compilation about to come we will dive more into the deep sound to change the ‘plastic Israeli sound’ stygma. The final lineup of the compilation is not yet accomplished but it will feature: Fish, Ace Ventura, Aussie Sun Control Species ,Perfect Stranger, Yotopia, Morax, Ajax and more.

What’s it like being a progressive artist in the full-on oriented Israel? Does it make it hard to get gigs?

I made a change last year going more and more progressive, and indeed it is harder to get gigs especially when one is used to play events at least once a week. Having said that, I have to mention there is a major growth in populartity of progressive psy these days in Israel and some outfits such as 3d Empire can gather a crowd up to 1000 ppl for a 12 hour session of proggy music – which was basically impossible to do 2 years ago.


What other releases are in the pipeline? Any on other labels apart from Iboga?

There is a PS track and BLT vs Danni Makov track to be released in the new Dance Connected German/Japanese label, compiled by Tobias. I think it supposed to be out mid July… There is a PS track that will be released beginning of September by the Swedish Moonflower records… What’s the Lineup track was just released on Set:5 by Iboga and it’s been remixed by Antix at these very moments so I guess u can expect that remix in the remixes CD to be released by Iboga this fall. These days I am in the middle of making the PS album which I should finish by October I guess and be released beginning of 2006 by Iboga.

You used to collaborate with Danny Makov with BLT… Which other artists have you worked with? Any that you’d like to?

I worked with PsyCraft, Cosma, Future Prophecy, Ziv Matushka, P. Cok, Quantum, 40%, Morax, Realistic and I guess there are more I havent mentioned. These days I am in the middle of collaboration with Ace Ventura, which is a lot of fun and flows nicely. I would like to work with Peter Gabriel but it’s not so likely to happen… basically as long as there is flow in the co-operation then it is a great thing to do since u gain a lot of knowledge in the process and it is fun to work with people.


Have you played many parties overseas? Which countries have you visited, both in and out of your trance career?

I played in Germany, Japan, UK, Bulgaria, Brazil, Portugal, India and Greece. It is good fun to play in parties overseas, meet new people and new cultures. Besides I have visited Nepal, Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia, Japan and more on my travels

Did you enjoy your time down under? Where was the favourite place you visited?

I spent a year in Oz split in two major drinking sessions… One in Sydney for half a year and the other one in Melbourne for another half a year. In both cases Bundy & Coke vs Carlton Cold was involved very strongly… That is why my sightseeing was very poor and the only places I got to visit were The Three Sisters and The Great Ocean Road with it’s 12 Apostoles… But I really loved my time in Oz, it has wanderful free spirit to it and its people, great looking women and the ludicrous Lunapark in St. Kilda!!! ROFLMAO!!!

Which artists do you admire right now? Who do you think makes innovative sounds, and who is influencing your music these days?

I would say that I am really impressed with Beckers these days, altho I am not into singing in trance, but his concept of sound engineering, and his extra phat music cannot be disregarded… Last Antix album is a killlllaaaaaa and Sun Control Species is damn impressive with his stuff especially the new tunes I heard from him. Keep it on Drew!!!

What does your studio setup consist of? Do you have much hardware, or are you mainly VST/DX based?

I used to have a full hardware studio, but I sold it 4 years ago and moved to work with software.

What do you think of the Aussie trance that is coming out lately?

I like it a lot!!! You could notice that from my previous answers heh… Oz is strongly on the map in music generally not only trance speaking. I guess you have the right atmosphere in which artists can evolve, and they indeed are evolving as we speak.

Any last words, thank-yous or people you’d like to mention?

I would like to thank those people that do not categorize and just listen, and stay open minded and open hearted. Thank you Jesse for that interview.

Be Good!!

Thanks man, good luck with your new projects. Keep up the amazing music!

_{Patrick (Paste / LaBaaz) interview}
Hello Patrick, how are you?

Hi Jesse, I’m fine

You have been a long standing member of the progressive scene, with your projects Paste and LaBaaz. Can you tell me a bit about where your journey into this music began? Where did you first hear it?

I started my career as a DJ in various outdoor partys in 1995. I was organizing Goa Trance Partys from 1995 till 1998 where i also was playing under the name DJ JP. It took not long and i got booked other organisations in switzerland to perform my dj sets. In 1999 i got more influences by the Progressive and Minimal Psytrance. At this time i also boght some first equipment to produce my own music. In 2000 i was founding the Project PASTE (http://www.pasteten.info) with his friend Stefan who was also djing for a long time. With Paste they were very succsesfull and they had until 2005 more then fifty releases on several Psytrance and Progressive Labels. In 2003 i strated next to PASTE my solo project La BAAZ.

Which artists inspired you back in those days to make music like you do now?

I got inspired in ealry days by: Etnica , Transvave , Xdream
From the more Psyprogressive acts like : XV Kilist , Bitmonx , Tarsis
Now I’m getting influenced from: Marco Tool, Infusion and RPO.

Paste still has a few releases about, but I understand you concentrate more on your LaBaaz project now. Can you tell me a bit about that?

Yes Stefan and me were still are doing music together but it is much more rarely as before. He is working in a record shop and just opened a label (http://www.kumquat-tunes.com/) and I have also lot’s to do with web-design next to the music. So we just don’t have so much time to do it together. But lately we did a new track and it might be going to be released on Stefan’s label. As I have more time I’m focusing more on the La Baaz Project.

So for those who might have only heard Paste, or not heard you at all, how would you describe your current music as LaBaaz?

With La Baaz I don’t have really one Style , I will say it goes from minimal techno until psytrance , but mostly the tracks are very groovy and deep atmosphere, In a tempos between 128 and 136 bpm. You can listen to some samles on my website:
http://www.labaaz.com/upcoming_release_eng.htm


Has branching into different styles of progressive helped you gain gigs outside of the trance scene?

Mostly in Switzerland it helped my a lot to play more Tech House and Progressive trance. I got book in Famous Progressive Clubs like (http://www.laby.ch) and Spider-Galaxy in Zürich.


Where have you played out as LaBaaz? Has it allowed you to travel much? Any memorable parties or moments?

With La Baaz Project I’ve Played as dj or Liveact in Switzerland, Germany , France , Greece , Brasil , Mexico and Japan. Last year I played many times in Brasil , so I was travelling quite a lot. My past bookings you can see on http://www.labaaz.com/pastbookings_eng.htm

Who do you think is making is making innovative music these days? Which artists do you admire?

Artist like Infusion , Beckers , Extrawelt and Unit 4.

Which labels have you been involved with in the past (including as Paste)?

With La baaz I released on: Flow, Submachine , Headstick, Traktor Schalllabor and Motoring. With Paste: Plusquam , Flow Records ,Digital Psionics, Shpastic Elastic, Traktor Schalllabor, ZMA, Interzone Records, Boshke Beats ,Plastik Park, Neurobiotic, Starsound, Traktor Schalllabor, Creamcrop, Manta, Element records and Domo records.

Tell me a bit about your up-and-coming releases…What’s on the horizon?

My Upcoming Releases are : Magus - Liquid mint rmx on Headstick Records (www.headstick.gr), Voices EP on Submachine Records (www.submachine-rec.com), Bodylotion EP on Aeon Records (www.aeon-rec.com) and The Timewarp EP on Interzone Records. -

Progressive has definitely diversified in the past few years, with many artists going different directions and breaking into different scenes… What can you say about that? Has it meant more sales or gigs?

In the last few years the music and the releases got more quality and also more people started to produce, so only if you are open for different scenes and influences you can imagine where the progressive goes. The most important is that I produce the style I most like.

Have you ever been down under before? Checked out the Australian scene? Any Aussie artists you like?

Yes I was in Australia in 2002. I‘ve played in Melbourne, Sydney and Byron Bay. Actually I liked it a lot to play there , also the people from Rif Production who booked me did very cool parties.

Got any people you’d like to mention or thank-yous?

I would like to say thanks to all the nice Artists , Party organizers and Party Peple I met on my travelings.

Peace bro, good luck with your projects, hope to hear some more music soon!

Thanks a lot for the interview!!!

No worries mate, nice to be in contact.

Jesse Kuch

Hujaboy / E-Jekt interview (Spun/Phonokol, Israel)
Hey Nir How are u?

Nir: All good back home after a long tour chilling.

DeTune: Lets stat with asking how old are u? Where are u from and how long have u been in this music scene for?

Nir: I am 29 years old originally from Jerusalem, living in Tel Aviv Israel.
Since I remember I love music, when I was a teenager I was a singer in a couple of metal bands here in Israel. In 1992 I went to an "acid party" with my friends and got hooked on the music. After a trip to India in 95/96 I decided I wanted to be a DJ. In 97 I started a project with Assaf Dor called Gorlation Corporation; we released tracks in many labels and broke up in 2000. Since them I am working as Hujaboy, Boo-reka and E-jekt.

DeTune: About the Hujaboy project, you have been working on this project for some time I believe, how did this beginning and how would u describe your sound?

Nir: Well when I started Hujaboy I really wanted to explore the tech-trance crossover so my focus was on making atmospheric music with low bpm and slow build-ups and the main aim was the groove, this was my first album at Hommega productions "Hujajoy" in 2002. Afer that I tried to make an album that leans more on techno that result was "BOO reka-Corrupt data factory". After this album I felt I have nothing more to say in this genre and I decided to turn to more psychedelic sound. So in my second Hujaboy album "Sonic tonic" I turned to night time psy trance and also upgraded my production.

DeTune: And where do some of your influences for this sound come from, what are some of the artists you are listening to at the moment?

Nir: Influence can come from any kind of music rock, pop, electro, big beat, break beat etc... My favourite trance artists these days are Domestic and Xerox and Illumination.

DeTune: Many of your tracks are well known around the world and on very respective labels, can you tell us about some of the most important releases for you so far and some we can look forward to hearing in the future?

Nir: Well recently I moved to Spun records so my best releases as Hujaboy are through that label. There's "Defractal" and "Magnetism" released on spun latest compilations. And on Sirius records from Japan there are a few upcoming releases watch out!! I started working on my next Hujaboy album for Spun records but there’s no release date yet because I just began working on it.

DeTune: Let’s talk a little bit about the Ejekt project, Ejekt is yourself and Uri Azene can you tell us a bit about how you guys first met and got this project started?

Nir: Uri and myself are both originally from Jerusalem. He was the first trance DJ in Jerusalem in 92-94. And since then working as a high end post production sound engineer, about 2.5 years ago we met and said we give it a shot and try and make something. The result was 2 tracks on my album Sonic tonic and about 8 releases in great labels such as TIP Sirius and Hommega. So we made an album called "Dark fader" this album will be released in July 21 and a world tour will follow along with tracks on various compilations.

DeTune: And have you done much other work with any other artists in the past?

Nir: I worked with Sub 6, Domestic and n the e-jekt album we have collaborated with PTX, Power source, and Suntree.


DeTune: Great, so with such a good response to Hujaboy and now with things taking off with Ejekt your sound is being heard by people all over the world, where are some countries your music has taken you?

Nir: Japan, USA, Hungary, Brazil, Mexico, Denmark, Greece, Belgium, England, Russia, Portugal, Argentina, India, Swiss, that’s all I can remember for now.

DeTune: I’m sure you’re a very busy person with everything happening at the moment especially with the world festival circuit about to begin. Where can we expect to catch you playing in the near future?

Nir: Israel: July 21 E-jekt Dark fader release party at Vox Tel Aviv.
July 22 Hujaboy-Black and white release party outdoor.
August 5 E-jekt Launch Live and Hujaboy DJ set Ultrasound red room Yagur. Swiss July 30 Hujaboy live and DJ Atmosphere festival.
Belgium August 13 Hujaboy dj set Dance a Delic festival.
Portugal August 17 Hujaboy Live Freedom festival.
Japan August 20-21 Hujaboy live and E-jekt live Sirius records outdoor event. More TBA on www.hujaboy.com and www.e-jekt.com

DeTune: Well as we wrap things is there anything you would like to say or do you have any thank-you’s to people who may have helped you get to where you are today?

Nir: There are just too many people to thank so I will just say a lot of love to everyone who helped along the way u know who u are!! I'd like to give a word to the new upcoming artists, Don’t try to imitate others make your own sound its the only way!!!

DeTune: Thanks a lot Nir, Cheers.

Nir: Was a pleasure!!

DeTune: Interview by Shannon (Detune)

_{Vibrasphere (Digital Structures, Sweden)}
1. Hey Guys, how are you?

We are fine thanks.

2. You guys don’t need much introduction, you guys have been responsible for many magic moments over the years… Echoes and Lime Structure where landmark releases…I hear there are some changes in store for Vibrasphere, can you please tell me about that?

Well the big change that has taken place is that Robert has returned and he is now once again a part of Vibrasphere in the studio. I (Rickard) will still continue to do all the gigs on my own since Robert still has an unsolved issue with those big birds. The sound is also undergoing some rather serious changes for the new album.

3. So I guess this means that the next Vibrasphere album is along soon… can you tell me a little about that? How has the sound evolved since Lime Structure? How has the reaction globally been to your new music?

We are currently working hard producing for the album. It is scheduled for release in February 2006 and will be proceeded by a three track EP in November. The sound will continue to move towards the progressive side, but we are also taking some leaps down the paths that we explored on our first album Echo. Most of the new tracks has not yet been fully integrated in the live set so to answer the last part of the question is a bit difficult. However the few new tracks that I have played out so far seams to be working very well.

4. I’ve heard Antix’s “Reservoir” remix and id have to say that you guys make a good pairing… I hear also you did a remix of “Forever Changing” off their album… When will these be released? Have you worked on any other tracks with other artists lately?

Glad to hear that. We really like the sound of the Strom brothers. The remix they did for us will most likely be placed on the EP mentioned above. I think Iboga will put out the Vibrasphere remix of “Forever changing” sometime in November. I did a couple of other remixes earlier this year. One for the German artist Meller and one for the chillout project Entheogenic.

5. So, who were some of the artists that first inspired you to make music? How did you guys come to discover trance and who where some artists that drew you into this music?

Both of us got into this when the first Dragonfly compilations were coming out around 1994 and then X-dream took that music a bit further by the end of the nineties.

6. What about these days, who are some of your favourite artists now? What kind of music do you listen to outside of electronic stuff? Whats in the stereo at home?

Since none of us is a DJ honestly we do not listen that much to trance outside of the studio, but of course we like most of the progressive artist and once in a while we find a really good track from artists like Sub 6 and Astrix. At home most of the stuff we listen to is actually pop music. Robert also has a weak spot for all sorts of electronica.

7. I hear you guys just returned from Samothraki Festival in Greece? How was your set? The festival as a whole? Did you play many other festivals this summer? Which ones?

Samothraki was great! Since I played the next last set of the whole festival I think people were a perhaps little bit tired after nearly three days of dancing, but on the whole it was a great experience. The location on the island is so nice and relaxed compared to most festivals. This summer has been a bit slow, but I also played the Atmosphere festival in Switzerland and a big techno festival in the south of France.

8. I guess you guys must have travelled a lot as artists… What have been some of your travel highlights so far and what’s the best country you’ve played in so far?

Parties can be good anywhere on this planet as long as they have the right vibe. One of my favourite places lately has been Buenos Aires in Argentina.

9. You guys visited Australia a number of years ago, what where your impressions of our country then? What do you think of the aussie people? Any plans to return any time soon?

I think you guys have a unique and very relaxed attitude towards life that most of us here in Europe lack. I hope to return soon, perhaps after the release of the new album.

10. Have you heard much Aussie music? Anyone who has caught your attention lately from down here?

We really like most of the things that Freq puts out. He has a very nice balance between the progressive and the psychedelic that is so hard to find.

11. What kind of things do you guys do outside of music? Do you have any hobbies or interests that take up your time that you wanna mention? What do you guys do when you are at home in Sweden?

Robert is a big Internet freak, so when he is not out walking his dog you’ll find him in front of the screen. I am a big sucker for sea kayaking and staying out in the nature. Two things that we share apart from making music are throwing Frisbees and picking mushrooms.

12. So are there any famous last words? Things you want to mention before we wrap this up? Any people you want to say thanks to?

Well everyone just hang in there the new album is coming….and…..we can also mention that there will be one more Vibrasphere album release next year. The second one will be focusing a lot more on the downbeat side of our production. More news on this will follow shortly.

13. Thanks guys, its been an honour… I’m waiting for the new album, I’m sure it will be as landmark as the last releases were! Peace out!

You are more than welcome.

Interview with Rickard and Robert by Jesse Kuch

_{Antix (Iboga Records, New Zealand)}
Hey Barton, how’s it going mate? What’s new?

Yo Jesse, all is good over here...just about to start the remix of SCS - Nameless Blameless.

I take it you enjoyed the party I in Cairns; you looked like you were having fun… Tell us a bit about your recent journey to Ozzieland, and some of the highlights while you were here…

Cairns was killer....yes I had a lot of fun as you know. I played in Melbourne and Cairns on that trip, both were really nice parties. But Cairns in particular was extra nice. Beautiful place, wicked people and a fat sound system...it was just a really nice vibe there. Actually one of the best parties i've had in a while. My trip up to the Daintree just topped it off...the sweet icing on the top!

You guys are considered legends of our scene these days; you’ve certainly made an impact on a lot of people… Can you tell me about how you discovered this music, and what initially drew you to it? What acts inspired you early in the piece? Who do you think have had a big impact on the sound of Antix…

It was a late Friday night back in 95...we were cruising the streets of Auckland actually the notorious K road when I stumbled across a hooker...we really hit it off and before I knew it we were back at her place in Otahuhu. We were having it large when she put on a mixed tape. I said "wait, hold on, stop....what’s this we are listening too?"...she replied "this sweet cheeks is psychedelic trance... do you want a copy" I said..."fuck yeah" and..... OK now the real story which is not so glamorous. My friend was into it, he gave me a tape, I dug it...I started to by vinyls.. Then I moved to Japan to by studios equipment 'cause I knew I wanted to make this music. The stuff X Dream were doing, the Flying Rhino label, also Massimo Vivona and some techno gear like Rob Hood and Jeff Mills to name a few ...it was this kinda music that inspired us. These days Iboga and Digital Structures having been pushing our buttons also a lot of progressive house artists which I guess have influenced our sound to what it is today.

“Lull” was considered a classic album, but to me “Twin Coast Discovery” represents a definite maturation of the Antix sound since “Lull”… Tell us a bit about the process that went into making the album, and why is it called “Twin Coast Discovery”? It’s a famous rd in NZ isn’t it?

Well, the first track of the album we finished was Forever Changing, so I guess that was the bench mark we followed. We didn't really have a definite idea of what we wanted. We were just writing music that turned us on. Experimenting with vocals, new production techniques we also had a new studio set up, so the sound was a lot tighter. I dunno, we just wanted to make cool, fat groovy music the made people liked to dance to, hopefully we achieved some of this, maybe all...who knows, but we had fun doing it. Twin Coast Discovery is a tourist route here in NZ that travels from East to West. The name encompasses us being brothers, the discovery of new sounds, it’s a journey, similar to our musical journey and it also has a NZ feel. It sums up the whole album perfectly.

The newer Antix style seems friendly to different scenes, it has some deep/tech-house and breaks influences… has this meant more widespread gigs in other scenes that aren’t so “trance” oriented? House/club scenes are booking right now, are you getting a piece of that pie as well?

Yeah for sure. Here in NZ we are getting some nice bookings, we got asked to support John Digweed, unfortunately we won’t be able to do it, we leave for Brazil soon for a month tour, but yeah, slowly we are getting more bookings in this genre which is really cool!

Fiord is your new project, the last track on the album (“hiding place”) is listed as a Fiord track… please tell us a bit about this new project, who it involves and what sounds its going to push?

Fiord I guess is a more progressive alias, maybe like what Minilogue is to Son Kite. We are going to push this project to some progressive labels and see where that takes us. We are talking closely with English label Plastic Fantastic about some possible Fiord releases with them. So a slower, breaky , housey vocal vibe to some it up. It involves myself and Hayden, and the last Fiord track I wrote with Nicolai Krauss. You may remember him from an old Manta compilation as Mokie…

I hear Hayden is also working on some more Monday’s Millionaires stuff, can you enlighten everyone about that? Coldies for Goldies was a very big track here on our festival circuit (its still getting played!!!)…

Yeah, MM is a collaboration of us and the Phony's.... and I hear Hayden is whipping up some new ones as we speak, so lets see what rears its groovy head from the Iboga studio.

What’s in store for Antix now that the album is up? I hear you have some remixes with Phoney Orphants coming soon? What other labels are you working with at the moment? Any other compilation releases, tracks or collaborations you want to mention? Any artists that you haven’t collaborated with but would like to?

Recently we collaborated with Rob Salmon for the track Tame the Beast with a release soon on Flow with a Andre Absoulte remix on the flip. Also a new remix for Vibrasphere from his new album and a Phony Orphant remix is on the cards too. As mentioned before watch for some new Fiord tracks, possibly on Sentient records form the UK, as well as re release of Le Lascard and QITNL on Sentient also. I’m sending a new Fiord track out there which I did with Nicolai Krauss its called Hammer and Tongs so hopefully that one will get picked up. So keeping pretty busy. Also watch for the new 12" release of Twin Coast remixes with a Fitalic mix of Little Honey and a D-nox and Beckers mix of Le Lascard, this is out on Iboga very soon.

In your DJ set I see you play music by some other artists, please tell us a bit about who inspires you right now… who is making amazing music? What’s in your CD player at home right now? Are there any new artists you’ve heard lately that deserve a mention?

I’m inspired by so much, I recently got back from Japan, and Dj So from Plusquam blew my mind, playing only vinyl, actually he is one of my favourite DJ's. I’m playing a mix of his at the moment. Andre Absoulte is making some nice stuff, I'm loving James Holden and his label Border Community, Trent Moller from Copenhagen, wicked gear! Beckers of course, D-nox deserves a mention for his DJ sets and Infusion never cease to amaze as well, there is so much cool music out there the list could go on...Chab's new album on SAW, also the Deep Dish album!

You guys seem to tour a lot, it must be hard to get both of you in the same place at the same time… Tell us a bit about your touring the past while, where have you been? Where was your favourite place to visit this year? Anywhere you’d like to visit that you haven’t?

Yep, touring is a big part of it all...I’ve been this year to Japan and Ozzy, Hayden has been all over Europe, Canada and the USA. We leave for brazil in a couple of weeks which I’m really looking forward to, its somewhere we haven't been and finally we are going so that's wicked. I’m meeting Hayden there and we've got a tour of 8 gigs, we stay for three weeks. I’m then playing in Buenos Aires on the way back to New Zealand. Then I go to Mexico in mid November and stop in on the US on the way home before heading back to Sydney and Melbourne for December, so its a busy few months ahead for us, actually is been a busy year! Haven't been to Russia, would love to go there!!

Slow-Burning Studios is your studio at home in NZ… Tell us a bit about it? What does it consist of? You guys do work outside of the trance/house scene… can you tell me a bit about it, what are some other projects you have been involved in?

Slowburning is our company. Generally its a multi media company which concentrates on music of any description really. We do commercial music for TV, ads and promo for companies. I've also been doing a bit of mastering too which has been really good. Its the main reason why we can not travel together, someone has to be home taking care of business.

There’s a lot of amazing progressive music coming out of Australia and NZ at the moment… who are your favourite southern hemisphere producers and DJs? Why do you think there is suck a strong following for prog down here?

Yeah, its a hot spot for music, I really like Luke Chable from Melbourne, also Freq, SCS, Phil K, Kasey Taylor. I’m not sure why, maybe the climate is colder down these parts, we like it chilled and groovy, I guess its a extension of what we are like as people.

What kinda stuff do you get up to outside music? Any hobbies, interests or things that you pass the time with? I hear you like to snowboard a bit…

Yeah, I love snowboarding. I’ve been down to the mountain a couple of times this winter. I’m stopping over in Utah in December so hopefully get some nice snow there too. I enjoy the odd game of social cricket also sailing and a bit of running.

Any last words, thanks or people you want to mention? Anything else crazy profound?

Yo to you all, thanks for all the support and 1 cold beer in the chilli bin is better than 2 warm ones in ya hand. Peace!

Thanks a lot bruthaman, nice to chat to you again… Hurry up and come back across the ditch, we miss you already!!!

Sweet as sweaty balls!

Interview with Barton Stromm by Jesse Kuch

_{Triptych (Turbo Trance, France)}
Hey mate hows it going?

I’m fine, thanks

First things first I guess… Basics: Full name, age, location?

My name is Charles Michaud, 28 years old, leaving in the countryside near Paris, France...

Tell us a bit about how your interest in this music started… When did you first hear trance? Where were the first parties you attended? Who were some acts you admired early in the piece?

Since I’m very young I used to listen to music a lot. I remember some classical vinyl my grandmother brought me when I was under 10, then I started classical piano, music theory, and at 15 years old I started to play guitar in a rock band with my old friend Vincent (Tétraktys/Motion). Then we discovered trance in parties in France, the first trance track I heard was Total Eclipse! Then I went to more and more parties in 1998 and was very found of Sun project, Oforia, KoxBox and many many others…

Tell me a little about you and Vincent’s band? What music did you play?

Yes as I said above, we used to play in the same rock band with Vincent; we played some Led Zep stuff, Doors and all 60-70 psychedelic-rock standard ; )

So when did you decide to start producing trance as Triptych? When did you first get interest from labels, and who were the first interested in your trance music?

First with Johannes we produced psy-trance and minimal psy music under the Walhalla project, we released 12” and VA on Moon Spirits records, Sub Machine, and others. Then he started Silicon Sound and I started Triptych. Turbo Trance heard my first tracks and l’elf the manager thought my funky style would fit perfectly with his label and we sign together.

You released an album in 2003 “Lost Paradise”… This year saw you release another “Electrology” (Both on Turbo Trance)… How would you say you have updated your sound from the last album? Describe to those who don’t know the sound of Triptych today.

Yes I think there is a big change between those 2 albums, the first one was more morning full-on oriented, I reckon maybe it was less original than the second one as for this last one I decided to produce new stuff at a time I was listening a lot of various other musical style. Electrology album is still psychedelic and sometimes full-on but always very groovy with some progressive structures and electro breaks.

I’ve seen a few releases around on labels like Groove Zone. What else compilation wise is in store for you in the future? Any collaborations in the works?

I have some psy-trance tracks to be released soon on Alchemy records and Mind control, one progressive track under Groove Zone again, tracks for Transient as well which is back, and of course Turbo Trance records, I compile the next VA of the Accelerator series, the 3.0 one, the 2.0 was compiled by our djane Beka from Australia. I have also a collaboration with Pop Stream; the first track we made will be released very soon. And!! The new project Solead we have with Vincent a.k.a Motion, kind of eclectic project which combine a lot of electronic music style (electro, breaks, acid and progressive house) and with some Live Show concept We already released stuff on the progressive house label Erase records, and also a bootleg…More release are coming soon.

I see you made a track with Beka (Aussie Turbo Trance DJ) on your last album. A bit of a down-under connection ay? How did you meet her? Any plans to work together more in the future?

I met this very talented Djane when she started to work for the label, and yes we have some work to do soon again ; )

So how was your last trip down here… you visited quite recently didn’t you? What were the crowd reactions like? How where the parties? Any moments that stuck out in your mind of the last time you were here?

My trip in Australia (April 2005) was very hectic : 3 gigs in 5 days, when you think we have almost 22 hours of travel from France to there…The parties were very nice cause all were different, one club party in Sydney, one bush party in Byron bay and an after party for Earthcore! I enjoyed all of them and met very nice people. Now I just can’t wait to go back again.

How many times have you visited down here in total? How do you think it rates compared to other scenes in the world? Are we healthy?

Yes I think the public in Australia is quite good, nice faces, nice vibes, for sure also not so good ones lol but I think it’s the same everywhere.

Did you get to hear much Aussie music while you were here? Anything that particularly impressed you?

Hmmm not really had the chance to listen Australian stuff, maybe because I didn’t stayed enough time I think.
And still for me Infusion are your best band! But I already knew their music before.

So who are your favourite artists right now? Who do you think is doing inspiring things? And who’s in your stereo at home right now (from in or out of trance)?

Solead is my favourite band!!! Lol And to be serious I think all style of music inspire me from electro to classical music, I like to take inspiration from all kind of style. At home right now I listen the last Goldfrapp album.

What do you get up to when you’re not jetting about the place playing gigs and stuff? What do you do in your spare hours (if you have any?)?

I don’t have spare hours When I’m at home, I do some engineering work for cinematography (sound editing and re-recording mix) and for mastering. Also… I try to produce music!

Any famous last words or thank-yous? Anything you’d like to say or mention?

Thanks Aussies people and promoters in advance to bring me back again there!

Peace out bro, good to chat to you. Good luck with the coming year!!!

Cheers! And thanks for your interview!!

No worries mate, pleasure was all mine!

Interview with Charles (Triptych) by Jesse Kuch

_{Son Kite (Digital Structures, Sweden)}
Jesse Kuch Recently had a chat with Marcus and Seb from Son Kite / Minilogue, here is what they had to say…

Jesse: Hey guys, how are you?

Marcus & Seb: We're great, thanks! Sorry for the super delay with this interview ... really hard to find the time. Now we found the perfect time, by a pool in Rio.

Jesse: There is no denying that Son Kite are responsible for some of the more memorable moments in trance music… Please tell me how you guys first came to this music, where did this all begin? What were some early influences, and when did Son Kite form?

Marcus: Son Kite (Sebastian Mullaert and Marcus Henriksson) is our main project and the project that made us famous, but before Son Kite was born when me and Sebastian made music together under the name Trimatic and Sons of Mr. Martin. Sons of Mr. Martin were the first project and it was actually started before I joined the force. At that time Sebastian was making music together with a guy called Christian Steiner and they mainly made downbeat/chill dub stuff. When I became a part we started to try some up-tempo stuff and after a while Trimatic was created. We're still making music under the name Trimatic and releasing the music on our label Baluns, but the music that we make under that project is much more towards techno (but still trance) so I don't know if the people visiting this site would appreciate it. Anyway ... Christian dropped off after a while because he had other ambitions then sitting in a studio 10 hours a day.

Seb: So, the project Son Kite saw daylight in summer 1998 and was a step to the trancier sound. Obviously we had a really good timing because at this time the trance music really search for something new and our sounds were very fresh at that time. Many things in life are about timing and the wonderful thing is when you never need to think about timing ... the timing just appears.

Jesse: Since then you’ve had 3 full album releases with Son Kite, one with Kooler and a heap of releases under the name Minilogue… Tell me a little bit about how each project got its birth and the reasoning behind starting the new project…

Marcus & Seb: It's very simple... we want to make lot's of different styles of music. It would be very confusing if we released everything under the name of Son Kite. Son Kite and Minilogue is Marcus and Sebastian together. But actually our first project was called Trimatic (started back in 97) and at that time our music was more soft techno with element of trance ... very much inspired by Massimo vivona and the headzone/ground groove sound. The first attempts with Minilogue was made in 2001 and soon after we had our first releases on the progressive house labels Baroque, SOG, Planet Consciousness and our own label Vsual. At that time the prog house scene was fresh and inspiring for us. Now the Minilogue sound have changed a lot, still some pumping prog influences (like the little sister track on Sprout) but much more focus towards the electro and minimal techno scene. The crossover potential between these scenes are really great and we really feel that we can be free and open when we're producing and composing. We also feel that we found our deep and psychedelic side in this music. We just released a new Minilogue 12" on the German label Traum and we have upcoming releases on Treibstoff, Secret Planet, Soultech and Frosty. Kooler, Filur and Ooze are Sebastian’s own projects. Kooler had an album release on Kamoflage (side label of Dragonfly). Ooze had an album release on Spirit Zone (Where the fields never end) but after that album he didn't have very much time to his own productions and until know there haven't been many new Ooze tracks produced. But during the last year the work of Ooze have started again, together with the start of his new label Chillosophy Music (run together with Dj Nanda and Daniel (Dab Screen and Fingertwister). So you will here some new and interesting Ooze music in the future.

Jesse: “Colours” was a successful project last year, with the “On Air Remixes” and “Colours” and “Colours Remixes” all doing very well… can you tell me a bit about how you got the idea for this concept and tell us a little bit about its creative process…

Marcus & Seb: We wanted to make something more than "just" a new album. So we made a whole concept of it instead... two singles, one album and a DVD. A whole lot of work... puh!! The two singles contained remixes from artist coming from different styles of electronic music... Deedra, Shilo, Luke Chable, Dino Psaras, NOS, Vibrasphere, Aztech, Future past, Lemon8 and NDSA. We wanted the audience to listen to other stuff, not only progressive trance. We wanted the album to be a complete dance album... only dance tracks in different feelings and styles. The DVD was recorded in Japan December 2003; it was the biggest challenge of them all. A lot of work... more work than we thought! Surround mixing, editing, producing, translating, converting, encoding.... you name it... like I said, it was hard work... but lot's of fun Minilogue’s more clubby/house direction seems to be doing well at the moment too… Big successes in the club scene globally at the moment…Does this represent a serious shift in direction for you guys? Will it mean the end of Son Kite? Or will you keep both projects happening at the same time? We will for sure keep both projects happening at the same time. Son Kite will still continue to be our little baby. Continue to release trance stuff. Minilogue is our more experimental project. Releasing all kinds of stuff... Prog house, Minimal techno, Electro, Chill... you will see It's actually hard to have more than one full time project at the same time, loads of ideas and touring with both ... we have been talking about that a lot but since there are so much music that we love and want to produce we can't find another solution than keeping up the work with both of them.

Jesse: What’s in the future for each of your projects? Any album/compilation releases coming soon? Anything else new you are working on?

Marcus: At the moment we're working on a Minilogue album that hopefully be released early summer 2006. For Son Kite we have a new double single coming out spring 2006. We are working on other things as well but that's a secret

Jesse: How do you think progressive music has changed in the past few years… clearly there has been some shift in focus for a lot of acts, and branching out into new scenes… what do you think is in the future for this music and our scene, where can you see it heading?

Marcus: I think all the styles are progressing into each other. We can see a big change at the moment in the house, techno and progressive house scene. A lot of the dj of these styles are starting to play a lot of minimal techno / Electro stuff (Stuff like James Holden, Trentemoller, Michael Meyer sound). I feels like some of the styles are uniting again... like back in the old days. I don't know if the trance scene is heading in this direction but I sure hope so

Seb: The bad thing with trends in music is that a lot of djs and producers are totally changing style ... personally I prefer to get inspired by, for me, new music but in the same time keep my background ... create a personal blend!!! I think the progressive trance scene have been quite stagnated and boring the last few years, most progressive acts just sounding the same without development or a total conversion into progressive house (for me that's no development). One big exception is Atmos album ... 2nd brigade ... for me that's a pure trance album, but in a new and developed shape.

Jesse: What’s in your CD player at home right now? What kind of artists do you find inspiring or think are doing great things at the moment? What about new artists, who haven’t had a chance for much exposure yet?

Marcus: In the cdplayer at home: The Knife, Bookashade and listening to the radio, just for some change in style... diversity is always good . Artist that inspire me at the moment: James Holden, Kompakt stuff.

Seb: So much stuff ... I'm buying very much music in different genres and there are few moments when I'm not listening to music. I just bought a new fusion jazz album with a group called bedrock which is really cool. I listen a lot to electronica ... Efterklang, System, rumpistol, Zegunder, Four tet, Dollboy (and many many more) ... I love the pop electronica from Japan, so beautiful music. Then you have loads of dub, lounge, trip hop .... Especially the stuff from Ninja Tune is spinning a lot at home.... acts like Bonobo, Blockhead, Rainstick orchestra, Funky Porchini, Cinematic Orchestra and Skalpel. And like Marcus I also listen a lot on the radio ... if you just listen to records its' easy that you get stuck with only the stuff you know.

Jesse: Touring must be a big part of your life these days… please tell me a bit about where you have been recently, your favorite place to visit and anywhere you haven’t visited that you’d really like to go to?

Marcus: We've been touring a few countries the last couple of years... it's like a tour that's never stopping! This interview is written on a hotel in Rio, Brazil. The last two months we've been to Japan, Finland, Morocco, Hungary, Germany and Greece. It's a lot of touring There are many places we never played ... one place we would love to go is Island.

Seb: I think both Marcus and I love Japan, both the country and the people are something special ... so different. I'm a big fan of Australia (not just saying that) and especially Melbourne ... it's a perfect blend of Europe and Asia and I feel there is so much creativity and things going on. I could of course mention loads of places ... our world is very amazing and if you open your eyes you see the beauty wherever you go (shanti shanti)

Jesse: So how did you enjoy Australia last Earthcore… It was a very special gig for a lot of people down here, Violin and all… Tell us a bit about your memories of our country this time; what kinda stuff did you get up to while you were down here? Any plans to return anytime soon?

Seb: As you know I had to do that gig by myself since Marcus got sick and couldn't make it. Son Kite live is really a lot of live ... and since I had to do it myself it was much more playback ... improvising with the violin and the Nord Lead on top of the tracks. The earthcore festival was great as always, I love that they mix all kind of different styles on the same festival. I had one more gig the weekend after the festival and between the gigs I went to Perth to visit my family that lives over there ... big sister with grown up kids, with kids ... a lot of people!!! We will probably come back in the end of January, playing at the Rainbow Serpent. I think that we'll play both Son Kite, minilogue and one dj set each. We met Frank on some festival in Europe this summer and it was great to see he's such a nice guy and that he totally lives for the music.

Jesse: Have you heard a lot of Aussie music at all? What do you think? What about our scene in general?

We like some of Infusion's stuff, Luke Chable is cool. We really like Australia... only good experiences, nice parties cool and open minded people.

Jesse: When you aren’t touring or in the studio, what do you guys get up too? Is there a life outside of music, or is it all-encompassing?

Marcus: What do you mean... no touring and no studio!!! Is there a life without it? !!!! Girlfriend and friend are getting the most of the lime left after all the touring and music making.

Seb: When you're full time working musician/producer and touring all the time most things depends on it. The most important things for me in life are for sure my wife, Asa, the rest of my family and my close friends. There isn't time for much more things than that.

Jesse: Any last words, thank-yous or people you want to mention?

Marcus: Don't do drugs kids!

Sebastian: Be open ... all music have an energy that can give you something, it's just up to you as a listener to find it!!!

Thanks so much guys, I really appreciate it… It was an honour to chat with some of the true legends of progressive music, good luck with your new releases and look forward to catching you at RSF!

Homepage
www.sonkite.com

Son Kite Live in Tokyo in 2003
http://www.purplesnow.net/Data/mp3/SonKite_live_Tokyo.mp3

Marcus DJ mix
http://download.sonkite.com/djmixes/marcus_clubmix.mp3

Seb DJ mix
http://download.sonkite.com/djmixes/seb_breaks_mix.mp3

_{Ticon (Digital Structures / MPDQX, Sweden)}
--Hey guys, how are you?

* Thanks, we are very good. After working on the new album for two years we took some well earned vacation!! So now we are fit for fight again so to speak.

--Not much introduction needed with you guys, Ticon has been a name synonymous with the progressive scene for a long time now. It's been a great journey from the first releases and landmark albums like "Rewind" and "Aero". It's been a while since Aero- tell me where Ticon are at…

* It has been a fantastic journey from the very beginning, now, six years after (which also is the name of the album) we can look back with smiling faces and enjoy what Ticon has become.

On this third album we really wanted to take our time and get it right, the way we wanted it! That’s why it took us 2 years to finish. We also felt that by making songs over a period of two years the album would be much more varied than if we made it during, say, one year. Since we change our opinion of what we enjoy creating in the studio almost every month we got an album that we think could appeal to a great audience and the variation of the album makes it more interesting to listen to!

--Tell us a little about the new album then. I understand its going to be released both CD and Vinyl? Can you tell me a bit about the updated sound of Ticon?

* As just been told, we tried to make an varied album, we have covered many music styles, from groovy club music to electro to rocking trance and morning music that makes u fall in love.

This time we felt that we covered all perspectives of music that we like and we think this is a little bit more mature album from us, but this is up to the listener to decide...

We also wanted the album to be released both on CD and on Vinyl because that it’s usually a different audience that listen to Vinyl in the stores and to keep the Vinyl alive is important for us, the raw and analogue will never die!!!

--You're style has always been quite diverse, and pretty genre defying. I loved the remix of Sub6 and the updated Mammoth Hunters- any other projects you're working on beside the album (compilation releases etc) you'd like to talk about?

* We are glad that people enjoy our recent productions, the Sub six remix of 7th son was really fun to make, and we really love the vocals on that one. Michelle Adams is a fantastic singer! The remix of we are the mammoth hunters was a different story, we hated it! It was really close that we threw it in the trash until we played it out and it was like magic!! Now it’s one of our favourites... quite funny!

Right now we are working on our new live set and our new website that will be launched same day as the album so we have no time for producing but in some time we will be on the go again making both remixes and Ticon, not to forget New Disco Science Alliance.... We are also planning with the Son Kite guys to open up Qlap again, but that’s in the future.

--Your side project New Disco Science Alliance used to release in a more housey-direction. Is there any future in this project?

* We have been so busy with Ticon that we had no time left for New Disco Science Alliance, but now we will definitely start working on it again. But don’t expect it to sound the same as the old tracks, we have gone in a little bit different direction... u will see!! Woohaaa!

--Which artists inspired the sounds of the new album? What do you listen to in your cd player at home? Any new artists you've heard lately that deserve mention?

* This is an interesting question. For the album we listened to tons of music, all kinds of stuff, and I really mean TONS of music! It came to the point where we got deaf of all the music and had to isolate ourselves in the studio with nothing to listen to except our thoughts and the sound of beer-cans opening... It worked! Really good also!

The music coming out of our private speakers is at the moment quite different from what we did in the studio some months ago. Filip is in to Swedish rock pop (with a big risk of getting my ass whipped by the trance mafia) and Fredrik has his endless need for Frank Sinatra (Here Filip insists that all that read this have to listen to “Miss Kitten- Frank Sinatra is dead") awwuch... (I got hit by Fred now, haha).

There is no particular artist that we are going to mention, we think that the people that sit in their bedrooms all night long and are close to get evicted because they play, bum tsss, bum tsss, all night gets our attention, they are the future of music, not some old guy sitting and eq-ing a hihat all day long so he can get the sound "perfect"! So, all u out there, keep it up!!!

--What do you think of the progressive scene today? Do you think it's healthy? It seems as if it's gotten over the troubles of a few years back and is on track. Where can you see it heading?

* The progressive scene is getting better and better we think, it has come to the point that people say “I like full on but that progressive sound is really getting to me now" and that’s cool. We are playing on many full on parties at the moment and it is always getting people wild. The progressive scene is merging together with the full on scene at the moment and that is a really good thing for both genres we think.

The reason the progressive music has got back on track is because many talented artists worked their ass of making inspiring and quality music...

Where it’s heading? For the Sherwood forest maaaan!

--Have you had much of a chance to tour the sounds of the new album yet? What have the results been like?

* We play a mix of the old and the new at the moment and we have to say that the new sound is really getting the people wild!! There is a special energy that we created in the new album that we feel is amazing on the dance floor. When the new live is ready there will be endless possibilities for our live set and it will be even better... wohhhoo!!

--Where have you guys played lately? I guess you'd be touring quite a bit these days? What's your favourite place to visit?

* Right now we are gigging every weekend, promoting the new album. We are going on tour in Brazil which we really like. It’s a beautiful country with beautiful people. Not to mention the food, wow! We also like Mexico a lot... Well, we have a good time in most places and that’s what counts.

--I know there would be many moments over the years that have fully stood out, but is there any party you've played, or moment that has been extra special in your career as artists? Life-changing moments I mean?

* There have been many funny and great moments during the years; one of them was in Mexico. We and Son Kite had to do a television interview for a Mexican TV station and they didn’t know how to speak English, they also had some small people dressed up as elves and they messed around in our hair. That’s sick man!

Playing in front of 16 000 people on Brazil party XXX perience was also a cool thing to do. The whole way of life is life changing I think, touring all the time makes us more open-minded and we think about life in a different way now than before… bla bla bla.

--I know you've played down under some time ago. What do you think of your little neck of the woods? Did you enjoy playing here? Any memories that stood out? Any plans to return soon?

* We always had a thing for Australia, how couldn’t u? The country has so much to offer. Melbourne is a lot like our country but on the other side of the globe, strange... Byron bay is also a wonderful place!

The memory that stood out most must be the incident with the big spider, in Sweden there are no big spiders but we had an encounter with on in the place we stayed in Sydney once! It ended with that the dog eat it!! The horror, the horror!!!

We had a booking for the rainbow serpent festival but it got cancelled somehow... but we hope there will be a new booking for us soon! Come on party promoters!!!

--What kind of things do you guys get up to when you're not making music and touring? Any hobbies or interests outside of music? What do you do in your spare time?

* Well, the music takes up most of our time, but when we are not touring or in the studio we try to be with our family and friends, drink beer and work on our future plans of becoming astronauts!

--Any last words before we wrap this up? Thank-yous or people you want to mention?

* As usual on the thank u list on our albums, we thank all the party people and promoters around the globe for making it all come true... And Fredrik have to thank Frank Sinatra. Filip wants to thank Miss Kitten for making the track Frank Sinatra is dead... awwuch! (I will file a police report on u, u bastard! Haha)

--Thanks so much guys, was a pleasure to have this opportunity to talk to you. Good luck with the new album, I can't wait for its release!!!

* Thank u for the nice interview and we hope to se ya "down under" soon!

Interview with Fredrick and Filip from Ticon by Jesse Kuch (dont forget to check album samples on their website www.ticonmusic.com)

Photograph by Pernilla Sjöström

_{Bamboo Forest (MP Records, France)}


Hey mate, how are you? Tell me a bit about yourself… Who is Bamboo Forest? Where do you live? And How old are you?

My name is Stephane, I’m 37 years old and I live near paris.

Bamboo Forest have been around for a long time now… You have undergone many evolutions and changes to arrive at where you are today- please tell me a bit about how Bamboo Forest started and how it arrived to where it is at today?

I started bamboo forest in 1995. Yann join me three years after but he decided to take care of his family one year and a half ago. Now I continue the project alone and I want to make another project, a bit more progressive.

So which labels are you most involved with today? You have a new album just in shops… Tell me a bit about that? How has the Bamboo Forest sound evolved?

I made this new album few months ago, but I'm not happy with the sound of it.
Also the mastering could be much better but it's going to be for the next one for sure. The live show is what to watch!

What other releases have you got coming soon? Have you collaborated with any artists lately?

I got three new tracks, they going be released soon on compilations.

Which artists inspire you musically? Who do you think is making amazing music in the world right now? What about outside trance, is there any other styles you are really into?

My first passion was jazz, I studied harmony and composition. But now I'm making only electronic music, there's no one special artist who inspires me. The music in general does!

What does your studio consist of? Do you use any hardware, or are you part of the software revolution that is sweeping the world these days?

Yes, I got a lot of analog synths and some virtual ones. Also I use tube gear to warm the sound and I closely follow the evolution. But I still think a real synth sounds better than plug-ins!

Are you looking forward to your visit to Australia? What have you heard about the Rainbow Serpent Festival? What can crowds expect from your set there?

I heard there's a lot of travelers there- some people say it's the best trance festival in the world! so...

Is there anything else you’d like to do while you’re here? Anything else you’d like to see or do? How long will you stay for?

I can stay only 5 days around cause I got a lot of work at home. (i'm making a new studio with a good acoustic!)

Any last words to the Aussie people before we wrap this up?

We gonna have fun, for sure!

Cheers mate, looking forward to hearing you on the dancefloor in a few weeks!

Interview with Stephane from BF by Jesse Kuch

MP Records (Bamboo Forest’s Label) Homepage
http://www.mprecords.net/

First try at Trance music...

Mix It Like A Record

Making a Beat 4

Cubase 4 Low Latency Demo